Painters escape Hotshots in come-from-behind win

MANILA, Philippines — The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters came back from 12 points down in the fourth quarter and squeaked past the Magnolia Hotshots, 102-100, in their PBA Commissioner’s Cup matchup Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila. 

The Painters kept the Hotshots scoreless in the final six minutes of the game to complete the come-from-behind victory and win their third straight win in the import-laden conference. Magnolia, meanwhile, slid to its fourth straight loss. 

Deon Thompson had a monster double-double with 18 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks, three steals and an assist for the winning team. Santi Santillan added 17 markers, while Andrei Caracut had 15, with 10 coming in the final quarter. 

With Rain or Shine leading by two, 85-83, early on in the final canto, Magnolia unleashed a 15-1 run capped by a 3-pointer by Mark Barroca to grab a 12-point advantage, 98-86. 

A Caracut and-one play snapped the run and cut the lead to single digit, 98-89, before Sangalang connected on a layup to answer, 100-89.

This was the final points of the Hotshots in the game as Rain or Shine heated up. 

Another Caracut three-point play, followed by a Caelan Tiongson trey, made it a five-point deficit, 95-100. 

A split from the line by Thompson, a 4-point shot by Caracut and a jumper by Adrian Nocum gave the Elasto Painters the lead for good, 102-100, with 3:26 left. 

The two teams were unable to connect on their shots down the stretch, but Magnolia had numerous chances. 

With less than a minute to go, Jerom Lastimosa missed a 4-pointer, but Sangalang got the rebound. However, they were not able to hoist up another shot as the shot clock expired. 

In the next possession, Tiongson missed the dagger triple from the corner, which gave Lee another opportunity to grab the lead for Magnolia. 

He, however, missed another trey, but Zav Lucero forced a jumpball on the rebound to hand another Hotshots chance for the lead. 

And with about 5.7 seconds left, Lucero received the inbounds pass and then kicked it out to Lee. He left his feet and dished it out to Jerom Lastimosa, who attempted a 4-pointer but missed as time expired.

Tiongson added 11 markers, while Nocum had 10 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists. 

Ricardo Ratliffe finished with 27 points, 13 rebounds, two steals, two assists and a block. Sangalang added 21 markers, while Barroca had 18. 

Rain or Shine rose to 3-1, while Magnolia dropped to 1-4 in the conference. The Hotshots will try to snap their losing streak against the NLEX Road Warriors on Friday, while the Elasto Painters will try to keep it going against the Terrafirma Dyip on Sunday. Both games will be at the PhilSports Arena.